Catherine crossed her arms in front of her. "It's Nancy Brookes, the receptionist who was coming down here later."


The ride back to Gold's Gym had been quiet. Catherine drove for once; Nick was content to be in the passenger seat for a change. His headache had returned in full force while his mind wrestled over the new turn of events. Motive never came before the evidence, but Nick knew Nancy Brookes' death had some connection to their investigation. She was coming down to the station for a reason, and whatever information she was going to share got her killed. Nick hadn't even spoke to the woman, yet his guilt was eating away at him.

Jim Brass was following them in another car. Nick wondered what thoughts were running through his head at the moment. The trio entered the building that had once again been cleared of all its guests. People milled around in the lobby, and the scene was too much like de déjà vu for the investigators involved. Michelle Wilson watched the CSI's approach, and this time she looked rattled by the death.

Nick and Catherine skipped out on the interview process and let Brass handle it. They could better spend their time processing the scene. They were guided by one of the officers into the sauna room, where Nancy Brookes lay fully dressed on the floor.

David was finishing up some note-taking, and looked at the criminalists. "Hey, guys. My preliminary COD is a broken neck. Until the autopsy, I won't know for sure if it was caused by something like a fall, or by a person."

"Thanks, David," Catherine replied as the coroner left.

Nick began photographing the position of the body, while Catherine scanned the ground for any evidence that may have been left. There were no signs of a struggle, which wasn't uncommon for a body dump.

Nick continued to take photos from various sides and angles. "Looks like whoever did this, didn't bother to try to make this look like an accident."

Catherine had canvassed the floor with her flashlight and had stopped a few feet away from the body. There appeared to be partial footprint on the tiled floor. She starting taking her own photos before trying to lift the print. "Well, no one comes in here with their clothes on. Not to mention this room wasn't even in use: it isn't as damp as it could be."

Nick had been relieved at that small wonder. The room was absent of the steam that usually occupied the area, but there was still an overwhelming dampness. Nick rubbed his forearm against his forehead, trying to wipe away the sweat that had been building there. After documenting the body, he began the process of looking for any trace evidence on the woman's clothes.

Nancy Brookes wore a flattering pink shirt that clung tightly to her and a pair of white shorts that showed off her long legs. This receptionist was a beauty, and it was always such a shame to have to study a body that was now just a shell. Nick felt himself falling into one of his moods. This was his job, to bring justice to the victims, to store his emotions away and remain objective. He was only human, though, and he felt the anger burn deep inside his chest. With grim determination he analyzed this poor woman, praying for any subtle clue as to her attacker's identity.

Her clothes were not hiding any loose fibers, no strands of human hair, but he did notice something and it made his heart beat faster. "Catherine, check out her finger nail."

Catherine knelt down in front of the victim's left hand and studied her well manicured nails. Each finger appeared soft and smooth, topped by red sculpted nails. All but her fourth finger, as it was broken. Catherine grinned. "Atta girl," she said to herself. She began to sift under the nail to remove what she hoped was the epithelial remains of her attacker.

Both criminalists continued scavenging for any nuance of the suspect, however there seemed to be nothing left. The coroner was called to remove the body and the search for clues went on, but still there was nothing. Catherine packed up her gloves and kit and stood up slowly, her knees popping from being crouched down too long. She rubbed a weary hand across her burning eyes. She needed to go home. They were only a couple of hours away from their much-needed sleep before they were called out back to the second scene. She exhaled heavily and turned her attention to her partner.

Nick was still placing items back into his pack. To anyone else, he looked like a calm scientist who was mulling over a case, carefully collecting his things. However, her experienced eye picked up that far and lonely distance in his vacant stare. His methodic way of gathering his equipment was marred by the clumsiness in which he did it. Just barely missing one of his rolls of tape, the slight tremor in his hands as he tucked other items away. When he stood, it wasn't to his full height; he was leaning forward as if he couldn't be burdened with standing. Nick Stokes looked at Catherine and for once didn't smile.

Sleep deprivation didn't solve cases. Catherine made a decision. They would drop off their findings and both of them would go home. Even if she had to get Warrick and Brass to manhandle her partner into his truck and drive him there. Both of them walked in silence back into the lobby in search of Brass. They saw the detective and he waved them into one of the offices.

Nick stood in the corner and Catherine sat in one of the leather chairs. Jim Brass was grim. His eyes were downcast, but his movements were energized by something.

"You got something." Catherine stated instead of questioned.

Jim cocked his head. "Found these in Nancy Brookes' desk."

Nick and Catherine moved closer to inspect what the detective was holding. Nick slipped on a latex glove and snagged the baggy from Brass's hand. He stared at the contents: at least twenty pills jiggled within the plastic baggy. He'd let the lab analyze it, but he knew they were steroids. Nick frowned and looked at his partner, his eyes locking with hers.

"We need to get a general search warrant for this place," he stated firmly.

"Yeah, I'll get one in the morning. I know a judge who'll have no problem issuing one," Jim replied.

"In the meantime, we need to close this place down. We're dealing with two homicides in two days. This staff is in danger, and we need to be able to conduct our investigation without having the scene compromised by day to day operations," Catherine explained. There was no doubting that the senior CSI would get whatever authority necessary to lock down Gold's Gym indefinitely.

"And done." Jim walked out of the room, already on his phone to get things accomplished.


The staff were allowed to leave after another round of interviews. Everyone had left with few complaints, except for Michelle Wilson, who was refusing to leave until she had her say in things. She stood outside in front of the entrance, busy yelling at the CSI's.

"Its bad enough that the weight room has been sealed off for the past two days, but shutting down this entire place will cost me more money in one day then you guys make in a month!"

Michelle had her hands on her hips, her eyes blazing like her volatile temper. Her face was flushed and he voice didn't seem like it was going to wear out any time soon from all the yelling she'd been doing for the past few minutes.

Catherine had about quite enough of the verbal abuse for one day. She gave Nick an exasperated expression and turned towards the fiery redhead. "Look, Ms. Wilson, screaming about this isn't going to change things. Two people have died here. I'd be more concerned for your staff's well being than your loss of income."

Michelle pursed her lips, seemingly at a loss for words. She gnawed on her bottom lip and began to speak in a calmer voice, but one laced with venom. "I've cooperated with you people. I've provided you with files, access to every part of this facility, even made my manager give you a drug test. All I've gotten from you people are false drug accusations, a smear campaign against my club, and you arresting one of my employees."

Captain Brass had wandered over to the trio. Michelle Wilson didn't seem like she was going to walk away soon. The owner crossed her arms. "By the way, I've arranged bail for Roger, he'll be getting out in the morning."

Brass intervened before either CSI could speak. "It doesn't really matter, Ms. Wilson. This is a crime scene. Also, your manager tried to assault a criminalist, and you're just going to have to deal with it. Now, if you'll just go home, so the rest of us can do our jobs?"

Some of the staff members were still huddled around. It was like some spectacle and Catherine really wanted to move on. "Since you're so interested in your employees' welfare, our detective will take care of informing Ms. Brookes' family about her death."

Catherine turned her back on the woman and began walking away. Nick stared at the owner in contempt at her lack of concern for one of her staff members. Blair Olsen and Bob Fulton walked over to the owner, each offering to escort her home. Neither criminalist waited around to observe the rest of the drama. They headed back to the lab to drop off their materials and for Brass to fill them in on what had to be a wonderful interview with Michelle Wilson.


The CSI's returned to the lab to fill out paper work and file away the photos from the scene. Catherine dropped off the shoe print off for analysis, and the samples from Nancy's finger nails at the DNA lab. Nick was busy typing up his summary of their collection as she then headed to the coroner to put a rush on the tox screen for the victim. Brass had filled both CSI's in on his interview with Michelle Wilson. The owner was getting dinner at the time the body was discovered. She had a receipt from a Chinese take out, with a time stamp.

Brass was going to confirm her time at the restaurant in the morning, but she was spotted all over the gym taking care of business before she went to eat. They had to wait for the autopsy to get a better idea of the time of death, but right now David was placing it between 10:00p.m. and 12:00a.m. Catherine ran into Jim in the hallway as she was leaving the coroner.

"When was the last time someone spotted Nancy? I mean, she was the front desk receptionist," Catherine questioned him without preamble.

Brass flipped through his notebook. "She went for a break at 10:00p.m., and that was the last time anyone saw her."

Catherine mulled over the information. "Who saw her last?"

"Blair Olsen," Brass replied. "Roger Sikes was here at 11:30 p.m. And it's only a thirty minute drive to the station." The detective didn't hide his opinion on who he liked for these murders.

"Good. Well, we've got a ton of work waiting for us tomorrow." Catherine glanced at her watch: it was 4:00 a.m., and she and Nick needed to be back at noon for the start of another double. She was grateful that they might get to catch about six hours' sleep. The senior CSI would make sure that this time her partner didn't make any side trips to run experiments and get to bed.

As she headed towards the office Nick was stashed in to drag him home, Gil Grissom poked his head out of his office and silently summoned her in with a wave. Catherine sighed; she really didn't want to have a discussion right now. She entered Grissom's domain and remained standing.

Grissom was flipping through her case notes, peering at the reports through his reading glasses. He looked up at her, his face showing the fatigue from his own case. He swiveled in his seat silently.

"What is it, Gil?"

"I'm assigning Warrick to help you guys out tomorrow; you two could use the extra help," Grissom explained as he looked at Catherine, waiting for her reaction.

Catherine didn't expect that they would be getting any help. It wasn't unusual, but Warrick hadn't been involved in the case at all, and would require a lot of time to catch up. Fresh eyes on a case was always good, but was her supervisor double-guessing her and Nick's ability to work this case, she wondered.

"OK. Why?" The smallest accusation lingered in her tone.

Grissom removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This was a single murder that has morphed into a possible triple homicide. There's probable drug dealing going on and some very hostile suspects that the both of you are dealing with."

Catherine tried to read in-between the lines. "We're not dealing with a serial killer, Gil. I think we're dealing with someone who is very unhappy with the staff at this gym. Its probably a drug ring gone bad."

Grissom got out of his seat to perch himself on the corner of his desk, casually rubbing his chin. "No, it's not a serial killer, but this thing is escalating. I want you two to have some extra help. I'm not underestimating either of you. But you have one suspect who has all ready tried to assault Nick, and he's being released tomorrow morning. I think it would be better if Warrick was around to conduct any further interviews with that man."

"Nick is fine. He's been very professional throughout this investigation." Catherine stood up straighter, her voice defensive. She still hadn't discussed Nick's handling of Roger Sikes in the interview, but she wasn't about to let Grissom question her partner's objectiveness.

"I have no doubt in Nicky's procedures and conduct. I'm concerned about his ability to handle certain witnesses. We have to deal with the reality that one of the suspects has a beef with him. It's for the sake of the case, and how the DA will perceive any further clashes, as it is for Nick's possible safety."

Catherine blew out a breath. "I'm not arguing with you Gil. I'll be happy to have the extra help. Be sure Warrick gets all the reports so he's up to speed in the morning. And don't worry I'll talk to Nick about this so you don't have to," Catherine said, knowing the reason for their little meeting.

Truth be told, she was glad Warrick would be joining them, they could cover a lot more ground. They all worked well together; she would just have to make sure Nick didn't perceive this as some form of doubt over their handling of the case. She found Nick in one of the labs, fast asleep on one of the tables with his reports sprawled out in front of him. His head was laying on his arm, a pen still in his loose right hand.

Catherine walked up to him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder so as not to startle him. It didn't help: he nearly toppled over out of his chair as soon as she touched him. It was almost comical watching him try to keep his balance as he almost fell.

"Sorry, Nicky." Catherine laughed at his wide-eyed expression.

Nick stretched his back, finally chuckling to himself. "Sorry, Cath, just kind of dozed off."

"Let's go home."

"You bet." Nick shrugged off his lab coat.

Both CSI's got their things together so they'd be able to tackle this case as soon as they returned in the afternoon. Catherine would let Nick in on Warrick's new assignment while they walked to their cars.


Nick Stokes had been so exhausted when he dragged his body back to his townhouse that he didn't feel like eating. The CSI diet is what they called it. Long periods of time in between meals, overheated TV dinners or high energy sugar substances were the things gulped down when you got a spare moment. Nick scavenged through his refrigerator and found nothing that could be prepared in a quick fashion. He was too drained to even think about working around a stove, so he dialed his favorite pizza joint on speed dial and sacked out on the couch in time for a repeat of Sports Center.

He fell asleep on the couch and was awoken by the doorbell from the delivery guy. One had to be in awe of Vegas, as there were 24 hour joints all over the place. Nick got a plate out to eat his meal, but his stomach did a double flip at the thought of food. He forced himself to eat a couple of slices, but his irregular diet of late was doing numbers on his appetite. His dinner pretty much a waste, he put it in the fridge and headed for a long hot shower.

He had reacted to the news of Warrick's involvement in the case without any anger. They needed another person to bounce ideas off of, and he and Warrick worked well together. They even had tickets to a game next week, Nick hoped this case would be wrapped up by then.

Nick let the shower pound on him for over a half hour. The water was near scorching, but that was what he needed to ease all the aches he'd been feeling from today. Nick didn't even bother to use soap, he was too tired, and turned the water off to dry. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped one of the over sized towels around his waist. He wiped all the condensation off and then looked at himself in the mirror, knowing he had forgotten to shave. He leaned in more towards it when an overwhelming dizzy spell hit him. He slapped his hands on the bathroom counter to stop his fall, giving the lightheadedness time to fade away. He stayed leaning over his sink, his arms trembling slightly from keeping his weight up.

Nick shook his head. "Jesus," he whispered to himself. He'd better hit the hay or he wouldn't be any shape to work on the case effectively the next day. Nick crawled into bed, chastising himself for letting his body get so worn down. His room was pitch black from the heavy shades and curtains that he used to block out the light. It wasn't like he hadn't pulled doubles and triples in a row before. Nick glanced at the clock; he had five hours before he hit the time clock the next day. He only hoped there would be a few more breakthroughs tomorrow.

TBC...


Thanks again for everyone who has left comments. All your feedback reinforces my muse. I'll always write wantever I'm feeling during the time I drat out something, but I always keep past comments in my head to try improve my writing. Every piece of feedback is filed away. It helps to know that the things you set up come across in the story and that the little nuances the readers pick up on. Thanks again everyone.

Fan4fanfic

I try to balance the forensics side of the investigations, with character devlopment then add my own spice and chaos! I think Nick is a wonderful CSI and I'm glad you enjoy my portrayal of him.

groban

Nice to hear from you again! Its very exciting to hear that the suspence part is working. Its music to my ears. You crave Nick angst? Well...I'm not going to promise anything, but things do have to simmer for a while. Boy do I enjoy a nice long, gradual increase of stress.

rozzy07

Hey again. I want to say that was some of the best feedback I've gotten. Personaly, the way I like to write and what I like to read..are well fleshed out characters and chapters that build up. I wanted to try that with this story and I'm glad you like it. I hope this chapter, contiuned to wrack up the tension level. You know things getsometimes getvolatilewhen the tension keepscranking ...you know?

A.Remains

I did read that story, thanks for the rec. Glad you are enjoying the tension. Things are really getting a bit...well I'll stop dropping hints.

Designation

Hope this chapter was quick enough for you! Thanks for your contiuned support!

P.L. Wynter

Yes, odd things are going on. You should try your hand writing some CSI! I always encourage anyone to try to flex thier creative juices!